Government and Politics

The 1970 provisional constitution (sometimes called the basic law)
declares Qatar a sovereign Arab, Islamic state and vests sovereignty in
the state. In fact, sovereignty is held by the amir, but, although he is
supreme in relation to any other individual or institution, in practice
his rule is not absolute. The constitution also provides for a partially
elected consultative assembly, the Advisory Council. The first council's
twenty members were selected from representatives chosen by limited
suffrage. The size of the council was increased to thirty members in
1975. Among the council's constitutional prerogatives is the right to
debate legislation drafted by the Council of Ministers before it is
ratified and promulgated.

The amir is also obliged to rule in accordance with Islamic precepts,
which include fairness, honesty, generosity, and mutual respect. Islamic
religious and ethical values are applicable to both the ruler's personal
life and his rule. Thus, the ruler must retain the support of the
religious community, which often asserts itself in such areas as media
censorship, education regulations, and the status of women.

The state political organs include the ruler, the Council of
Ministers, and the Advisory Council. The ruler makes all major executive
decisions and legislates by decree. The constitution institutionalizes
the legislative and executive processes in the functions of the ruler,
in effect formalizing his supremacy. Among the ruler's constitutional
duties are convening the Council of Ministers, ratifying and
promulgating laws and decrees, commanding the armed forces, and
appointing and dismissing senior civil servants and military officers by
decree. The constitution provides that the ruler possess "any other
powers with which he is vested under this provisional constitution or
with which he may be vested under the law." This means that the
ruler may extend or modify his powers by personal decree.

The constitution also provides for a deputy ruler, who is to assume
the post of prime minister. The prime minister is to formulate
government programs and exercise final supervisory control over the
financial and administrative affairs of the government. When the
constitution was promulgated, Khalifa ibn Hamad was concurrently prime
minister and heir apparent, but the constitution did not specify that
the post of prime minister must be held by the heir apparent.

The Council of Ministers, which resembles similar bodies in the West,
forms the amir's cabinet. A major government reshuffle in July 1989
reorganized several ministries, bringing in younger men loyal to Khalifa
ibn Hamad's son, Shaykh Hamad ibn Khalifa. The Al Thani continued to
dominate the government, with the most influential (after the amir and
heir apparent) being Shaykh Abd Allah ibn Khalifa, minister of interior;
Shaykh Ahmad ibn Hamad, minister of municipal affairs and agriculture;
and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Khalifa, minister of finance, economy, and
trade. In October 1992, of the sixteen Council of Ministers posts, ten
were occupied by the Al Thani and six by commoners.

The Council of Ministers is responsible collectively to the ruler, as
is each minister individually. The ruler appoints and dismisses
ministers (technically on the recommendation of the prime minister when
that post is occupied by someone other than the ruler). Only native-born
Qataris can become ministers, and the constitution prohibits the prime
minister and other ministers from engaging in business or commercial
activities while holding state office.

The Advisory Council debates laws proposed by the Council of
Ministers before they are submitted to the ruler for ratification. If
approved by the ruler, a law becomes effective on publication in the
official gazette. In 1975 the amir empowered the Advisory Council to
summon individuals to answer questions on legislation before
promulgation. The Advisory Council also debates the draft budgets of
public projects and general policy on political, economic, social, and
administrative affairs referred to it by the prime minister. The
Advisory Council can request from the Council of Ministers information
pertaining to policies it is debating, direct written questions to a
particular minister, and summon ministers to answer questions on
proposed legislation. Ministers have the right to attend and address
Advisory Council meetings in which policy matters within their purview
are being discussed; in practice, no use has been made of this
constitutional guarantee because members of the Council of Ministers are
also members of the Advisory Council.

As the constitution stipulates, Qatar is divided into ten electoral
districts for the purpose of forming the Advisory Council. Each district
elects four candidates, of whom the ruler selects two, making a total of
twenty; they constitute the relatively representative portion of the
council. The members represent all Qataris, not just those in their
districts. The Advisory Council was increased to thirty members in
December 1975 and to thirty-five members in November 1988. Membership is
limited to native-born citizens at least twenty years of age. The
constitution states that members are to serve three-year terms, but in
May 1975 members' terms were extended for an additional three years and
then for additional four-year terms in 1978, in 1982, in 1986, and in
1990.

Before the implementation of the constitution, the ruler's
legislative authority frequently overlapped or encompassed judicial
functions because he personally adjudicated disputes and grievances
brought before him. The constitution marks the beginning of an attempt
to organize the judiciary. The secular courts include a higher and lower
criminal court, a civil court, an appeals court, and a labor court.
Civil and criminal codes, as well as a court of judicial procedure, were
introduced in 1971. All civil and criminal law falls within the
jurisdiction of these secular courts. A labor court was created in 1962,
primarily because few of the country's existing judicial customs and
codes were applicable to contemporary labor relations.

The sharia court is the oldest element in Qatar's judiciary. The
court's law is based on the Hanbali legal school of Islam, wherein
judges (qadis) adhere to a strict interpretation of the Quran and sunna,
or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. Originally, the sharia court's
jurisdiction covered all civil and criminal disputes between Qataris and
between all other Muslims. Beginning in the 1960s, the court's
jurisdiction was successively restricted by decree. In the early 1990s,
its responsibilities were confined primarily to family matters,
including property, inheritance, divorce, and Islamic ethics.
Non-Muslims were tried in secular courts unless they were married to
Muslims.

The constitution establishes the legal presumption of innocence and
prohibits ex post facto laws. It also stipulates that "judges shall
be independent in the exercise of their powers, and no party whatsoever
may interfere in the administration of justice." The judiciary is
nominally independent, not so much as a result of a constitutional
guarantee but because its jurisdiction is unlikely to confront the
ruler's exercise of power. Secular courts adjudicate on the basis of the
ruler's past decrees, and religious courts are restricted to questions
of personal status. No provision exists for judicial review of the
constitutionality of legislation.

According to the preamble to the 1970 constitution, the government
was undergoing a transitional stage of development. The constitution was
thus provisional and was to be replaced with a new constitution after
the transitional period ended. Shaykh Khalifa ibn Hamad has usually
legitimated government changes that he decrees by reference to the
constitution. As of early 1993, however, there had been no indication
that the full implementation of the constitution was imminent (for
example, the electoral aspects of selection to Advisory Council
membership) or that the transitional period was ending and a new
constitution forthcoming.

In addition to describing and delineating governmental authority, the
constitution sets forth such protections as equality among Qataris
regardless of race, sex, or religion; freedom of the press; sanctity of
the home; and recognition of both private and collective ownership of
property. Such guarantees, however, are limited by the public interest
and must be in accordance with the law--which is determined by the
ruler. In practice, freedom of the press means that incoming foreign
publications are screened by a government office for potentially
objectionable material, and the indigenous press exercises self-
censorship and is subject to sanction if it fails to deal appropriately
with political and religious issues.

The constitution also includes a commitment to certain economic,
social, and cultural principles, including state provision of health
care, social security, and education. Housing, pension, education, and
medical programs were begun in the 1960s and expanded by Shaykh Khalifa
ibn Hamad as oil revenues permitted throughout the years. There were no
state taxes on individuals, and the state subsidized the prices of basic
commodities to minimize the effects of inflation. Although these
programs appeared to reflect West European statism, they were
manifestations of the ruler's sense of duty, based on obligations
inherent in Islamic ethics.